Burner for gas-heaters.



No. 717,832. PATENTED JAN. 6, 1903.

, W. E. HTGH. BURNER FOR GAS HEATERS.

APPLIUATION FILED NOV.10, 1898.

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No. 717,832. PATBNTED JAN. 6, 190-3.

w. E FITCH. BURNER FOR GASHEATERS.

APPLIGATION FILED NOV. 10, 1898.

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' 1N VEN TOR WMZ a W 01 Hey V ve 5 mm a proper mixture of gas and air before ignit-- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. FITCH, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

BURNER FOR GAS-HEATERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,832, dated January 6, 1903.

Application filed November 10, 1898. Serial No. 696,038. (1T0 model) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. FITCH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Burners for Gas-Heaters, of which the following is a full, clear, and

exact description.

This invention relates to that class of heatbeen admitted into a chamber arranged back of the face plate, and the face plate has been perforated at different planes to permit the escape and the ignition of the gas.

to let the gas flow for an interval of time and until the chamber is practically filled with a ing. If this is not done upon applying a flame to the burners, the mixture is apt to explode and light back into the mixer because not' rich enough to burn at the flame orifices. Again, the gas being lighter than atmospheric air, if turned down low, rises to and exerts its greatest pressure at the top of the burner without feeding the lower portion of the burner at all, and thus an unequal and imperfect distribution of flame results. turning off the gas what remains in the chamber becomes very poor by reason of. atmospheric dilution, and at a certain stage, the flame flies back to the chamber and explodes the gasremaining in the chamber. Inv the present invention I overcome these objectionable features by the use of a receiving-chamber divided into a series of compartments equal to the number of rows of burners, so

that each row of burners has a chamber of its own, whereby the gas may be ignited as soon as it is turned on and without danger of explosion, and when the gas is turned down low it will continue to burn at each burner or row of burners without liability of being extinguished.

Having thus stated the principle of my in- In operating heaters of this character it is necessary Furthermore, when.

vention, I will proceed now to describe the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle and then will particularly point out and distinctly claim the part, improvement, or combination which I claim as my invention.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the face-plate containing the rows of burners. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of. the back plate containing the individual chambers. Fig. 3 is a front elevation with the face plate partly broken away and showing the apparatus of my invention. Fig. t is a horizontal section taken in the plane of line t 4 of Fig. 3 and omitting the mixer. Fig. 5 is a perspective view in vertical section of sufficient of a fireplaceheater to illustrate one application of my invention. Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the burner with a greater portion of the face plate removed. Fig.7 is a perspective view of the preferred form of gas-cock.

The face plate or burner-plate a preferably is made of sheet-steel in step form, each step having the substantially horizontal portion b, provided with a number of perforations 0, through which the gas escapes and at which it is lighted. d is the back plate, preferably made as a casting and having the channel (2 extending laterally and horizontally from the center to each side and then vertically ate 6 Between the channels 6 c the back plate is divided by a series of horizontal beveled ribs f, corresponding in number with the number of steps, less one, of the face plate. The spaces between the ribs f are divided by the partitions g, and a similar partition 9' is erected above the top rib f. A horizontal baffle-plate 71 projects outwardly beyond the lower rib f andinto and lengthwise of the channel 6, and said baffle-plate is also provided with the partition 9 I t is a bracket projecting below and from the back plate (1 and preferably integral therewith.

If desired, the face plate and back plate may be connected by belts or rivets or other suitable fastenings, and for this purpose, as

shown in Fig. 2, holes may be made in the back plate for the reception of such fastening devices.

Then the face plate a is applied to the back plate and its edges bent over upon the back of said plate or otherwise tightly secured thereto, its several steps abut against the respective ribsfand make tight joints therewith and with the partitions g, g, and 9 so as to divide the chamber formed between the said back plate and face plate intoa number of compartments, each of which is practically independent of the other and all of which are in open communication with the supply-channels e and 6 respectively. Thus in the illustration shown, where there are five steps and live rows of burners, there are practically ten compartments, each of which is fed with gas from the same source, but independently.

It may be well to face the several ribs f with some cementitious material, as 7', Fig. 3, in order to make a tight joint between the face plate and the back plate.

The face plate will be covered with asbestos or other refractory and incombustible material, as at 7r, Fig. 3.

Instead of making the back plate a separate piece and attaching it to another back plate or lining, as shown in the drawings, (see especially Fig. 5,) the said back plate may be made integral with the aforesaid lining or other structure.

Themixing hood or mixer Z may be of usual construction and bolted to the bracket 2'.

I have shown also an economical form of gas-cock in Figs. 5, 6, and 7, in which the easing on, its inlet-nipple m, and outlet-nipple or tip m may be made as a single casting, and the key or plug n may be arranged therein in any suitable way. As here shown, the cock has a bracket m with lateral notches to receive screws, as in Fig. 3, by which it may be secured to the bracket "11; but I do not limit my invention to this feature or any other means for fastening the cock.

Inasmuch as the tendency of the gas is up ward, the lower burner may have the greatest number of holes, and thus give more gas to that row of holes.

It will be observed that the channel 6 e e is largest at the bottom and diminishes as it approaches the top, and thereby the flow of gas is in a measure retarded and the pressure more nearly equalized, and this construction is especially valuable in confining the gas near the base rather than allowing it to fill the upper compartments too rapidly and when the gas is turned low gives sufficient gas to allow the lower row of burners to continue burning. This mode of operation is enhanced by making the several compartments of less cubical area from bottom to top, as shown.

The baffle-plate prevents the gas from striking the holes directly above it, and this also prevents lighting back into the mixer, and it also serves to divert the gas laterally.

steel or sheet-iron and with a cast-iron back,

or the apparatus may be all of sheet metal or cast-iron.

By my construction of individual chamberburners each row of burners is independent of the others, and it is impossible for the flame or gas to light back into the lower burners.

The channels 2' 6 shown as made in the back plate, might be made in the front plate. Furthermore, instead of making the front plate with steps it may be made flat; but I prefer to use the stepped face plate, since by this construction the flame is thrown upward from each step without interference with the next step and without the liability of the lower flame extinguishing the upper flame either by generation of carbonic-acid gas or the heat arising from the lower flame.

By the construction described I avoid all the difficulties encountered by the use of asingle gas-chamber without materially increasing the cost of construction, and it will be understood that my invention comprises, broadly, the provision of an independent supply-chamber for each burner or row of burners and whether this individual supply-chamber be made wholly or in part in either the face or the back plate.

I do not limit my invention to its application to fireplace-heaters, since obviously it may be used in gas-stoves and other gas-heaters. Neither do I limit my invention to the use of the vertical partitions g g g for dividing the horizontal gasways or chambers, since obviously they may be omitted without departing from the spirit of my invention, which in this particular comprises the provision of separate gas-delivering chambers or compartments for the individual burners or rows of burners.

What I claim is 1. A gas heater burner, comprising a stepped face plate having flame-orifices, and a back plate having as many individual compartments as there are steps, each compartmen divided vertically, and a supply-channel common to all of the compartments, the stepped face plate being secured to the back plate, substantially as described.

2. A gas-heater burner constructed separate and apart from its support and comprising a face plate containing a series of flameorifices, a back plate upon which the face plate is supported, and a series of individual gas-compartments formed by and between the face plate and the back plate, adapted to supply gas to the series of flame-orifices independently of one another, and a gas-supply common to the several compartments, substantially as described.

3. A gas-heater burner, having a back plate provided with horizontal ribs projecting forwardly therefrom, vertical partitions extending between said ribs, a gas channel arranged beneath said ribs and having vertical branches at its opposite ends communicating with the spaces between the ribs, and a face plate applied to said back plate and provided with gas-outlets, substantially as described.

4. A gas-heater burner, havinga back plate provided with horizontal ribs projecting forwardly therefrom, vertical partitions extending between said ribs, a gas channel arranged beneath said ribs and having vertical branches at its opposite ends com municating with the spaces between the ribs, and a face plate fitted substantially gas-tight to said ribs and forming a series of gas-discharge chambers in the said back plate, and rows of gas-outlets in said face plate equal in number to the number of chambers so formed, substantially as described.

5. A gas-heater burner, having a back plate provided with horizontal ribs projecting forwardly therefrom, vertical partitions extending between said ribs, a gas channel arranged beneath said ribs and having vertical branches at its opposite ends communicating with the spaces between the ribs, and a face plate fitted substantially gas-tight to said ribs, and having a series of step-like rows of burners which communicate independently with the respective gas-discharging chambers formed by the ribs and partitions of the back plate and the face plate, substantially as described.

6. A gas-heater burner, having a back plate provided with horizontal ribs projecting forwardl y therefrom, vertical partitions extending between said ribs, a gaschannel armany individual compartments as there are steps and a supply-channel common to all of the compartments,substantially of described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 8th day of November, A. D. 1898.

WILLIAM E. FITCH.

Witnesses:

HOWARD M. BnLLows, FRANKLIN J. PEARCE. 

